Peter T. Barbur

Barbur won dismissal for American Express (“Amex”) of a civil lawsuit filed in New York federal court by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and 17 state attorneys general alleging that Amex’s nondiscrimination provisions in its merchant agreements violate antitrust laws. This case—one of the largest and most significant cases arising under Section 1 of the Sherman Act that the Government has brought to trial in over a decade—culminated in a nearly two‑month bench trial. The Second Circuit reversed the district court’s determination that Amex’s merchant acceptance rules violated federal antitrust law and remanded the case “with instructions to enter judgment in favor of Amex.”  Barbur also represented Amex in the appeal before the U.S. Supreme Court, which affirmed the Second Circuit’s judgment in favor of Amex. He previously represented Amex and certain of its directors and officers in a shareholder derivative lawsuit arising from the DOJ’s enforcement action; defendants’ motion to dismiss the complaint was granted with prejudice.

Barbur continues to represent Amex in numerous matters, including securing a major trial victory in class action litigation brought in New York federal court by classes of debit card and non‑rewards credit card users in multiple states alleging that Amex’s non‑discrimination provisions inflated prices paid for goods and services sold by merchants across the country. Following a three‑week trial, the jury unanimously found that Amex’s non‑discrimination provisions do not unreasonably restrain trade—an important win that protects Amex’s business model. He also represents Amex in class action litigation brought by merchants alleging that Amex and numerous other credit and charge card issuers conspired to shift certain costs of fraudulent charges from the card issuers to merchants by the implementation of standards replacing swipe cards with chip cards. In addition, Mr. Barbur is representing Amex in a putative class action brought on behalf of more than 5,000 merchants in Rhode Island federal court challenging Amex’s non‑discrimination provisions as anticompetitive, and in arbitrating more than 1,200 similar claims brought by merchants in separate JAMS and AAA arbitrations.